a review of books, websites, movies, or anything worth reviewing with comments about libraries and librarianship

Monday, November 14, 2011

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

Author Laura Hillenbrand's second book Unbroken, about former Olympian and World War II prisoner of war Louis Zamperini, was highly anticipated. Her previous book Seabiscuit was a wonderful book that spent years on hardcover and paperback bestseller lists. Could she possibly match her success? It was not even fair to expect it, but somehow she has succeeded. Unbroken is a blockbuster that promises to be in circulation among readers for years to come. Hillenbrand tells a great story that pretty much circles the earth and spans the twentieth century. Readers are taken to Nazi Germany before the war and to Japan during and after. They also visit poor 1920s immigrant neighborhoods, 1930s Stamford University, and post-war-boom suburban America where some veterans struggle to overcome addictions brought on by horrible war experiences. Throughout, they follow the life of the irrepressible Zamperini, a man who was famous and then mostly forgotten.

Libraries hardly have to promote this book. My library has numerous hardbound copies (no paperbacks have been published yet), as well as large print, audiobook on compact disc, audiobook download, and downloadable ebook. I especially liked the audiobook well read by accomplished actor Edward Herrmann. My week listening to Unbroken was a week well spent.

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I am a reference librarian at the Thomas Ford Memorial Library who graduated from the University of Texas at Austin. I have worked in public libraries in Texas, Missouri, and Illinois. I am interested in promoting reference services and the reading of good books.